Employment

Julie Chapman, 38 is a lone parent from Thornaby who first came to Five Lamps through ‘Communities Fund’ in January 2011.

Five Lamps run Communities Fund on behalf of Stockton Council to support people who are unemployed.

Julie was unemployed for 6 years while she brought up her family. She was looking to update her skills to help her get back into employment.

Julie lacked confidence and was shy when around others. After meeting with Elaine Wright, Five Lamps’ Intensive Support Worker, Julie decided that she would like to update her IT skills. Elaine supported Julie to enrol on a Level 1 ICT course at Five Lamps.

Julie then took the big step of joining the class and meeting new people, which she found daunting at first. Initially, she found the work very demanding but she soon started to enjoy this new experience as it had been many years since she last studied.

Julie recently took her first exam and is waiting for her results. Julie also successfully completed a Food Hygiene course arranged by Elaine as she wants to work in the catering and hospitality industry or in retail.

Julie has said she would now like to go on to do Level 2 ITC skills. She said

“I’m looking forward to more learning as well as paid employment. If it hadn’t been for the support of Five Lamps, I would never have taken that “big first step”. I am now doing more studying and applying for jobs”

This single Mum isn’t daunted by learning and work anymore.

Lynne Love, from Thornaby is devoted to her family.

During her children’s formative years, Lynne worked part time to enable her to be there for her family and have an additional income coming in to the household. As any family will tell you this in itself is hard work. It needs management and energy in order to cope with family life but together, she and her husband managed this well.

Tragically Lynne’s husband became very ill and for several years Lynne was his carer until his too early passing in 2008. Lynne was then thrown into turmoil and during those difficult days had the additional anxiety of having to return to employment. The Job Centre and benefit system was daunting for Lynne, who had no experience of this in the past.

Lynne came to Five Lamps to seek support in finding employment and asked “What can you do to help me?”. Jane Simpson, Five Lamps’ Intensive Support Worker signed Lynne onto ‘Communities Fund’. Five Lamps deliver Communities Fund on behalf of Stockton Council to support people who are unemployed.

Jane supported Lynne to prepare an Action Plan, update her CV, complete a job search and enrolled Lynne on various courses, including her first ICT course, Food Hygiene and First Aid. Lynne passed all her courses with flying colours.

Lynne is diligent in everything she does, is hardworking and determined and loyal to all her commitments. Jane reassured her that with all her endeavours to secure employment there would be a position out there for her.

This indeed was the case, in no time at all Lynne has reaped the rewards of her hard work and successfully secured employment as an Assistant Cook at Cleveland Alzheimer’s Residential Centre.

Lynne said

“I couldn’t have done this without the support of Jane Simpson and her colleagues at Five Lamps”.

Partnership working between Five Lamps and property services group Apollo has ensured that 3 young people from Stockton are now undertaking work placements.

Aiden Larsen, 17 has been offered a joinery apprenticeship, Andrew Robinson, 20, will shortly start work as an apprentice painter and decorator and Thomas Riley, 21, has been taken on as a plasterer.

Andrew said

“I couldn’t believe it I had only been with Five Lamps a couple of days, but Maureen Iveson [Five Lamps’ Intensive Support Worker] worked her socks off to get me this and she made sure I got the tools I needed.”

Having won a contract with Tristar Homes (part of the larger Vela Group) to carry out Decent Homes refurbishment work on properties around Thornaby and Stockton, Apollo began working with Five Lamps to offer employment opportunities and apprenticeships to young people in the area.

To mark the success of the partnership between Five Lamps, Apollo and the Vela Group, the 3 young recruits were invited to meet Apollo’s Divisional Director, Mike Edwards, along with the Chairman and Chief Executive of the Vela group, John McDougal and Cath Purdy.

Mike Sanderson, Apollo’s Site Manager, will be working alongside the new employees. He said:

“The staff at Five Lamps are totally committed to helping local people in Thornaby and Stockton find work. After two successful recruiting days we were delighted to offer one full time position and two apprenticeships, all to start in September 2011. Apollo will be looking to further our commitment to Five Lamps in the near future with further recruitment for our project with Tristar Homes.” 

Brenda Turnbull, Five Lamps Employability Team Leader said

“It’s been a pleasure working with Apollo. They are a relatively new employer in our area and are really keen to recruit local people and to develop the skills of young people by offering apprenticeships. We are hoping that as the project develops and grows we will be able to continue working in partnership and offer more opportunities to Five Lamps customers.”

The 3 young people came to Five Lamps through ‘Community Task Force’, ‘Work Programme’ and ‘Communities Fund’ for advice and guidance to find out what their options were as they all wanted to get back into work.

Five Lamps run Communities Fund on behalf of Stockton Council to support people who are unemployed.

Kath, 54 from Stockton first came to Five Lamps in February 2011 through ‘Communities Fund’ for advice and guidance to find out what her options were as she wanted to get back into work.

Five Lamps run Communities Fund on behalf of Stockton Council to support people who are unemployed.

Kath did not know which direction her life was going in or what she wanted to do and felt totally lost and depressed after losing her son to cancer in September 2010. On discovering her son was terminally ill, Kath made the decision to leave her job at Asda to help nurse him during his 6 month illness until he passed away. Her son’s death plunged Kath into despair, yet amazingly within 5 months Kath was ready to take control of her life and face the world again.

Kath was already aware of some of the services and support Five Lamps provide in the community to local people and felt able to approach Five Lamps for the support she really needed. Kath was seen by Darren Stephens, Five Lamps’ Intensive Support Worker at Dovecot Street in Stockton, who identified some of the potential barriers that could prevent her from securing employment and were limiting her future progression.

Kath left school at 15 years old with no qualifications and stayed in the ‘revolving door’ churn of low-paid and unskilled work. Darren suggested Kath could attend Five Lamps’ weekly Work Club sessions to develop her interview techniques and produce an effective CV.

Kath also started on Five Lamps’ Adult Literacy Level 2, Adult Numeracy Level 1 and ICT Level 1 classes and began to study really hard to bring her skills up to date. Kath also completed her First Aid and Health & Safety training. Darren also identified that to help her employability, it would benefit Kath greatly to volunteer and develop new skills.

Kath said

“Speaking with Darren at Dovecot Street has helped me to challenge myself and believe that I can achieve my goal”.

Having accessed a variety of support sessions, Kath decided that she did not want to work in the kind of jobs she had worked in all her life anymore and would ideally like to work with children and young people who have learning and physical disabilities. She offered her time to volunteer as a Support Worker at Five Lamps’ Youthy in Thornaby.

Kath absolutely loves the work involved at The Youthy supporting young people with many leisure activities and when you ask her about how things are going, her face lights up when she talks about what she has done and gets excited at how she wants to support young people further. Kath knows that she is on the right path now and looks forward to securing employment in this area.

On reflection, Kath said

“Five Lamps has given me a new focus in life and helped me to find out what I really want to do. It’s got me from sitting in the house watching daytime TV into an environment where I’m meeting new people and challenging myself”

Richard Carter, 30 from Thornaby and Daniel Stephenson, 24 from Norton first came to Five Lamps’ Enterprise Team in November 2010 after visiting the Launchpad on Stockton High Street.

Both Richard and Daniel had been recently made redundant from a national building company. They completed Five Lamps’ Enterprise Gateway programme. Following this, they moved into Intensive Start-Up Support, working with Simon Coe, Five Lamps’ Business Development Officer to develop a business plan and finalise the financial forecasts.

By developing a good financial plan they were able to access a suite of support that, alongside their own redundancy money and grants from Five Lamps and Stockton Council, enabled them to start ‘Pipeworks’ in February 2011.

Despite having never been self-employed before, they worked incredibly hard to learn the key skills and now love self-employment. Richard said

“Working with Five Lamps took the worry away from self-employment and made starting our business a much easier proposition”

Daniel added

“We’ve already recommended a few people to speak to Five Lamps about starting up in business. If anyone is thinking about self-employment, I’d definitely say ‘get in touch’”

The Enterprise Gateway is delivered by Five Lamps on behalf of Stockton Council. Project part funded by the European Union.

Daniel Taylor, 20 from Thornaby first came to Five Lamps in May 2011.

Daniel had been unemployed for over 7 months and was selected by his local Job Centre Advisor to start the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) mandatory ‘Community Task Force’ program.

Community Task Force is designed to help young people who are out of work and claiming Jobseekers Allowance to improve their employability by developing skills and secure a positive work reference whilst on a 13 week placement in the local community for 30 hours a week.

An appointment was made for Daniel who was initially assessed at Five Lamps on Dovecot Street in Stockton by Darren Stephens, Intensive Support Worker. Daniel explained that he wanted to work with his hands and liked to keep busy. Daniel told Darren that he did not have a good experience at school and consequently his GCSE results were directly affected.

Daniel chose to carry out his 13 week placement with Five Lamps at The Youthy (Five Lamps’ purpose built youth centre in Thornaby). Daniel worked as a Ground Worker, helping with outdoor projects to clean up areas and help local people with their gardens. Daniel also worked supervised alongside a team of other local lads, most of which are from Thornaby to maintain allotments, fix gates and paint buildings. During his time on the Community Task Force, Daniel’s confidence began to increase and he realised that he had a structure to his week.

Daniel said

“I feel more confident now than I did before I was introduced to Five Lamps”

Daniel utilised his weekly job search sessions well and listened to the advice and guidance he was given about getting back into work. He focussed more on his job search and was able to develop an effective CV and started applying for jobs.

Daniel applied for a Welding Apprenticeship in June 2011 and secured an interview with Vixens Surface Treatments based on Teesside Industrial Estate in Thornaby: A leading force in the production of machines for degreasing and blast cleaning. After the interview he was told that he had been successful and could start the following week.

Daniel knows that this offer is a perfect employment opportunity for him to progress and really start to train towards a rewarding career in the future.

Daniel said

“I can’t wait to start my new job and learn a trade. I feel my luck has changed. I will definitely recommend Five Lamps to my mates”

Michael Hunt, 32, from Stockton is turning his life around with the help of Five Lamps and Integrated Offender Management (IOM) Worker Jodie Hind

Michael has spent the majority of his life in prison due to drug addiction and a chaotic and unsettled lifestyle. Michael was referred to Jodie Hind at Five Lamps by Scott Freebrain, Employment and Benefits Advisor based in H.M.P Acklington, Northumberland in February 2011.

On his release from prison on the 4 March 2011, Michael with the help of Jodie and Five Lamps’ Employability Team has been able to break the vicious offending/prison cycle that made up his life previously. Michael has responsibly tackled his issues head on and has made great progress on many other fronts. For the first time in his life, Michael is engaging services of his own choice and is considering accessing training which will allow him to apply for employment.

Michael is no longer at a loss with what to do with his life. He has direction. He has turned hopelessness to hope, and fear to confidence. This was achieved with specialist one to one listening and support work from Jodie and with assistance from local recovery groups. Michael engages with Five Lamps on a weekly basis.

Michael said

“It’s great to have the help of someone who has faced many of the problems that I face and go through. With Jodie’s experience I feel I have a chance today and will continue with the hard work. Thanks Five Lamps for making me matter”

Jodie Hind, 34 from Stockton is an inspiration to people who want to turn their lives around and is a catalyst for change.

Jodie had spent the majority of his adult life in and out of prison since the age of 15 and was a chaotic drug and alcohol user.

In 2005 Jodie was put onto the PPO (Prolific and Priority Offender List) which identifies 10 individuals in specific areas who pose greatest threat to safety and confidence of their local community. PPO allows local partners to concentrate their efforts on these people and help them change.

Through this scheme, Jodie was able to gain the support he needed to beat his addictions and began training to become a counsellor in a bid to help others like himself in the future.

In May 2009 Jodie was released for the last time from HMP Holme House and it was at that point that he decided to change his life. This was a daunting prospect for Jodie as he had virtually grown up in custody and had known life no other way.

Not only did Jodie have to distance himself from his criminal past, he also had a drug/alcohol addiction to beat.

When Jodie first visited Five Lamps in June 2009, Jodie met with Mark Thompson, Five Lamps’ Employability Team Leader and discussed his aspirations to help other ex-offenders like himself and in particular, those with addictive behaviour issues. Mark Thompson suggested to Jodie that he train to become a counsellor. Mark helped Jodie enrol on NCFE Counselling course.

Mark also suggested to Jodie that he could start mentoring other ex-offenders and this led to Jodie running talks in local prisons to other high crime causers about living a crime free-drug free lifestyle. One of the offenders Jodie spoke to in a local prison said

“It made me think about a life out there. If Jodie can do it, so can I”

In October 2009, Jodie began volunteering at Five Lamps as Volunteer Mentor and in April 2011 Jodie secured full time employment at Five Lamps as an Integrated Offender Management (IOM) Worker through funding from Stockton Drugs and Alcohol Action Team (DAAT) and Five Lamps.

Jodie said

“Looking back it’s hard to believe that this is my story because I seem so distant from that way of life today. I strongly recommend people with similar backgrounds to myself to consider engaging with staff at Five Lamps to help change their lives too.”

Tim Hutton had been looking to find work and was starting to feel discouraged and depressed, that was until he approached Five Lamps in October 2010.

Tim has a clear goal to secure an apprenticeship and permanent post as a Painter and Decorator. Tim said

“I felt like I was being passed from pillar to post, nothing good seemed to happen till I heard of Five Lamps”

Jane Simpson, Five Lamps’ Intensive Support Worker worked with Tim and gave him one to one intensive support, Information, Advice & Guidance. Tim has been working hard to achieve his goal and completed a Painting and Decorating Course in July 2010, along with Communication Skills and Mathematics Level 1. This is no small achievement, as Tim has faced many barriers into further education, training and employment.

Tim has a strong work ethic and is very ambitious. To support Tim’s progress, Jane arranged a short-term placement for Tim at Community Campus, to refresh his professional skills. Tim continues to be supported by Five Lamps and regularly attends our ‘Work Club’, where he receives support to complete his CV, intensive job search, create letters of application and also how to develop interview techniques. Tim also currently attends a Five Lamps computer course and CSCS training to improve his employability further.

Jane has also supported Tim by sending a letter of referral to a Property development organisation in Middlesbrough requesting they consider Tim for an apprenticeship. Due to Tim’s training and experience he has secured an interview with the company and is awaiting the outcome.

Tim said

“I had my first interview and feel great. I was nervous but thanks to the help I received I knew what to expect and was well prepared. Jane showed me how to cope with tricky question so had a few good answers up by sleeve” 

Whether Tim secures the position or not, he was informed by the employer he had a great interview which made Tim feel more confident. Tim is an ambitious and intelligent young man who is an amazing role model to his peers.

Sharon Joyce, 40 from Thornaby had spent the past 8 years of her life suffering from anxiety, panic attacks and depression, which impacted on her confidence and made it difficult for her to interact with people on a daily basis

During this time, Sharon felt that she was unable to focus and move on in her life.

Reaching 40 was a turning point in Sharon’s life and she decided that she was going to change her situation, but like many was confused how to change. She contacted Five Lamps at the beginning of 2011 and was seen by Darren Stephens, Five Lamps’ Intensive Support Worker at their Stockton building at 32 Dovecot Street.

During her initial appointment, Sharon told Darren that she wanted to work with other local people who were encountering problems, in particular, those with addictive behaviour issues. Sharon felt she was able to relate to the anxiety and depression many feel who struggle with addictions.

It was suggested by Darren that Sharon should start to think about learning new skills if she wanted to progress into employment. Sharon felt her CV highlighted how little she had done over the past 8 years and was anxious about the employment and skills gap.

Darren felt that volunteering would really benefit Sharon to build her confidence and develop skills that would help her in the future. After several one to one appointments, Darren referred Sharon to Lifeline in Stockton, who provide support for people with alcohol related issues and that is where she is today.

Sharon is very happy volunteering and is undertaking training to improve her employability and loves working closely with customers.

Sharon can’t believe the change in her life in such a short period of time. She says:

“I couldn’t even get dressed on a morning and coming to see Darren at Dovecot Street cheered me up and made me smile. Darren has put me forward to volunteer as an Alcohol Support Worker and I feel I’m on the right track to come off benefit and secure employment.” 

“The thought of volunteering was really daunting at first but it has helped me overcome my anxiety and panic attacks. I have made new friends and for the first time in a long time I can see light at the end of a very long tunnel”